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Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, and co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two vastly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song.class=song|id=t1157430|pure_url=yes}} Breaking Up Is Hard To Do Song Review November 29, 2011 Another song by the same name had previously been recorded by Jivin' Gene Bourgeois and The Jokers, in 1959. Neil Sedaka 1962 original version Described by AllMusic as "two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure pop magic," "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on August 11, 1962 and peaked at number twelve on the Hot R&B Sides chart. The single was a solid hit all over the world, reaching number 7 in the UK, sometimes with the text translated into foreign languages. For example, the Italian version was called "Tu non lo sai" ("You Don't Know") and was recorded by Sedaka himself. On this version, background vocals on the song are performed by the female group The Cookies. The personnel on the original recording session included: Al Casamenti, Art Ryerson, and Charles Macy on guitar; Ernie Hayes on piano; George Duvivier on bass; Gary Chester on drums; Artie Kaplan on saxophone; George Devens and Phil Kraus on percussion; Seymour Barab and Morris Stonzek on cellos; and David Gulliet, Joseph H. Haber, Harry Kohon, David Sackson, and Louis Stone on violins. Sedaka's 1975 version Though originally an uptempo song, Sedaka re-recorded it as a ballad in 1975. The slower arrangement was originally debuted by Lenny Welch; it peaked at #34 on the US Billboard charts in January 1970. Sedaka's slow version peaked at #8 in December 1975 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. It was only the second time that an artist made the Billboard Top Ten with two different versions of the same song. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts The Partridge Family version Apart from Sedaka's own reworking of the song, by far the most successful cover of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" was done by the Partridge Family in 1972. While only a medium hit in North America, their version reached number 3 in both the UK and Australia. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Other versions "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" has been covered by numerous other artists over the years, including: }} German version: Abschiednehmen ist so schwer * Anna-Lena Löfgren (1962; she was a Swedish singer, born 1944, died 2010) French version: Moi je pense encore à toi * sung and adapted by Claude François (co-author of "My Way") the title means "I'm still thinking of you". * Sylvie Vartan under the same French title Moi je pense encore a toi (I'm still thinking about you) Portuguese version: O Superstar * sung by new wave/comedy rock band João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados (1993) Spanish version: Qué triste es el primer adiós *sung by La Onda Vaselina (1989). See also *List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1962 (U.S.) *List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.) References External links * * Waking up is hard to do Category:1959 singles Category:1962 singles Category:1972 singles Category:1975 singles Category:Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield Category:Songs written by Neil Sedaka Category:Neil Sedaka songs Category:Paul Anka songs Category:The Carpenters songs Category:The Four Seasons (band) songs Category:Tom Jones (singer) songs Category:Carole King songs Category:The Partridge Family songs Category:Shelley Fabares songs Category:The Marbles (duo) songs Category:Andy Williams songs Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles Category:1962 songs